Flights booked!

This weekend I officially booked my flight to Europe!! Judy and I made sure we're sitting next to each other on the flights home. As for the way there, I hope I make some new friends :) I picked aisle seats there and back , so hopefully I don't feel too uncomfortable.

Here is my basic flight itinerary:

• Sioux Falls, SD to Chicago, IL---Chicago, IL to Madrid, Spain
• Rome, Italy to Madrid, Spain---Madrid, Spain to Chicago IL---Chicago, IL to Sioux Falls, SD

After this trip I'm sure I'll be quite the jet setter ;) Now that my flights are booked, I get to embark on one of my favorite pastimes- packing lists! (The sad part is I'm not even kidding). Any tips or tricks are welcome! 

University of Valencia coursework

After meeting with my study abroad advisor, I'm officially registered for classes in Spain! My program is 5 weeks long, and while I'm there I will be earning 6 credits (2 classes) to finish off my Spanish minor. This means I will be receiving 90 hours of instruction (45 for each class) while in Spain to transfer back to SDSU. My advisor believes I'll place into Advanced classes when I arrive (no pressure there)! Here are my choices:

1. Spanish Culture: History, Art, and Tradition. "This course gives the pupil and overview of Spanish culture and civilization. Approaches the different geographical, historical, cultural, and artistic ideas that have contributed to the formation of modern Spain."
2. Spanish Cinema. "This course will aim to achieve three objectives: Understand film as an artistic expression, but also as a manifestation of mass culture reflecting and our environment. Understand the social and political changes occurring in Spain in the last 30 years, from dictatorship to democracy. Acquire the basic tools of analysis of the films."
3. **alternate course** Panorama of Spanish Literature: Neoclassicism to Contemporary. "The main objective of the course is to expose the students to major authors, works and themes of the literature of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, by structuring content in chronological units."

There is also a Spanish Grammer course available, but I'm not that big of a fan of grammar in English, let alone in a second language! I will take a formal placement test when I arrive in Valencia, but they expect that students with two or more years of college-level Spanish are Advanced. I'm still searching for the best international flight deals, so let me know if you have any tips! :)

It's official- I'm going to Europe!

Hello everyone!

I want to share my exciting news- I have been accepted to the International Studies Abroad (ISA) Valencia summer program!!!! I will be finishing my Spanish minor (6 credits) in five glorious weeks in Valencia, Spain! My program dates run from June 26-August 1, 2013. Each weekend there are excursions to different cities in Spain (Madrid, Toledo, Barcelona, and Gandia).

After the program finishes, my friend Judy and I will be meeting up and traveling around France and Italy for about two weeks- talk about the experience of a lifetime!

My health is finally in a good place that my doctor feels confident letting me leave the country, and I couldn't be happier! I will keep you updated with my progress (next up is finding a plane ticket)!